Contributions to an employer-sponsored retirement plan going forward are excluded from disposable income in Chapter 13, says the 9th Circuit in Sadana, 19 years after BAPCPA became law. What took so long? Words in the statute matter Congress, in its BAPCPA-typical awkward fashion, said right there, in 541(b)(7)’s hanging paragraph, that amounts withheld for voluntary […]
Bankruptcy and the “hard of hearing”
You never know just how a client hears your advice, until you hear yourself quoted back to yourself as the reason for a client doing something stupid. In my case, I’m unclear about whether the message received was really as reported, but it’s made me think about my choice of words. I was asked […]
Re-examining The Means Test Cost of Home Ownership
The real non mortgage expenses of home ownership are nothing like the means test allowances provided. Bankruptcy lawyers need to rise to the challenge of aligning the means test with today’s economic and legal realities. The success of bankruptcy cases may turn on it. What the means test allows The means test provision for non-rent/mortgage […]
Why listening is a bankruptcy lawyer’s superpower
The initial meeting with a prospective bankruptcy client is the most important work I do as a bankruptcy lawyer. It’s also the hardest. The results of that meeting lay the groundwork for the entirety of the case. The challenge is establishing rapport with an utter stranger, who’s in distress, and persuading them to spill all […]
